


Joy to the World

by Luinlothana



Series: Partnership [2]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22266088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luinlothana/pseuds/Luinlothana
Summary: A bit of Christmas fluff, set following the events of Partnership. Chloe is trying to prepare for the holidays but it's not easy when on the one hand you don't want to spoil your daughter's Christmas spirit and on the other you recently learned your partner is an actual biblical figure. Familiarity with the previous story might be helpful but is not required.
Series: Partnership [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602793
Comments: 29
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Any intellectual property attached to the story below belongs to parties other than the humble author of the story in question. Who would gladly transfer even the rights to the remaining few original ideas to the parties currently in possession of the rights to the recognisable elements as a gesture of gratitude for presenting the stories to fans like herself. No profit is being derived from the following work and the purposes for its creation are purely recreational.
> 
> A/N: Just in case someone is wondering, the views and beliefs presented by the characters are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
> 
> A/N 2: This story is set after Partnership, another story of mine. If you keep in mind that it's a mid-season 3 revelation story, you don't need to read it to follow this one but some events referenced here might not make much sense otherwise.
> 
> Many thanks to my beta silver-doe287 for helping me with this story.

Joy to the World

It was five days before Christmas, and the sound of it would be a lot more fun had Chloe felt she was prepared for it. Instead, she was just wrapping up a case that ended up taking all the time she hoped to use for holiday preparation; she was signing the last of the reports, making a call at the same time.

"Are you sure you won't manage? It won't even be a large order. And I don't need anything fancy. No? Well, thank you anyway."

"Problems, Detective? And there I was under impression that the case was already done."

"It is. I was just trying to- I don't suppose _you_ know some caterer who would still take order for a Christmas dinner? My mom said she won't be able to help and with the case we had I didn't have time to even buy the products let alone prepare anything in advance," she said distractedly. Then she froze.

Chloe had been careful, _very_ careful not to refer to Christmas while talking with Lucifer. Not that he had actually said something that would discourage such a topic; if anything, it was the fact that she knew who he really was which made things awkward.

She never really even thought about it until she had been driving home early December, with Trixie manipulating the radio stations until she found some Christmas music. Suddenly she had heard the words 'his wings as drifted snow' of the _Gabriel's Message_ and had almost hit the brakes upon a sudden realisation that she had seen a pair of angel wings just like those and that the song was actually referring to _her partner's sibling_.

She had quickly switched to a different station, relaxing a bit at the sound of a different song as the words filled the air. _'Baby it's bad out there. Say what's in this drink? No cabs to be had out there...'_ At this point, Chloe had self-consciously concluded that she was a terrible parent. Who else would be so averse to angelic imagery that they subjected their kid to songs about dubious consent?

Despite _knowing_ who her partner was, the enormity of that knowledge never seemed quite so tangible, as it was when entangled with the tradition; after all, Christmas was so natural, she had barely spared it a thought. After that point, she honestly hadn't known how to handle the topic around Lucifer, so she avoided it altogether.

"Detective? Are you all right?" Lucifer's voice brought Chloe back from her musings.

"Yeah, I guess," she managed.

He didn't look convinced. "You look like you're ready to call it a day."

She shrugged.

"I suppose I am. I just finished with the paperwork. I was hoping to buy a gift for Trixie before going home."

"Would you like some company?" He asked as they were heading towards the parking lot.

"Sure, why not? If she told anyone what she might want, it's probably been you. Of course, chances are it was because she knew you'd _immediately let her buy it;_ but maybe there is something left she doesn't have yet."

"Excellent." Lucifer grinned at her. "Now to answer your question, yes, I absolutely _can_ think of a few caterers who would do that as a favour for me. It would only take a phone call. How many people was it supposed to be for?"

"Well, Trixie and me, my mom is flying in and–" she broke off, suddenly uncertain.

Chloe had been brought up with the idea that this was a time for family and friends and it usually would feel natural to invite close friends who didn't have a family to the Christmas dinner. Thankfully, Maze solved the problem for her two weeks ago, announcing she was going to be following someone out of the state and that she might turn it into an extended trip as she wanted to give skiing a try while at it, so Chloe didn't need to bother including her in her plans. If anything, she only felt sorry for anyone unfortunate enough to bump into Maze on the slopes. Still, that hardly resolved everything.

"Detective? Honestly, what is it? You are getting me a bit worried now. Are you sure you're all right?" They reached his car at that point and he opened the passenger door, gesturing her inside.

"I'm fine." Chloe quickly slid into the car, if only to get away from the topic. Unfortunately for her, Lucifer wasn't discouraged so easily.

"Chloe? I'm seriously getting worried about you. Can't you just tell me what it is? We were talking about the number of people coming to your dinner. How could that possibly cause you to react like this?"

He started the car and began driving out of the parking lot – getting out was currently 'out' as a way of avoiding the topic. Still, she realised he was glancing at her expectantly and would likely cause an accident if she didn't say something.

"Well, normally, if a good friend of mine wasn't spending the day with his family, I'd invite him as well. Unless that lead me to a realisation that his family was actually _actively involved_ in the events being celebrated and the topic might be problematic for him in the first place and – look, can we just forget I said anything?" She hid her face in her hands, embarrassed.

To think she was so proud of herself just a few weeks ago with accepting that Lucifer had been telling the truth the whole time, all without suffering a major breakdown. Turned out, it was the small things that end up tripping her.

"Is _that_ what you were so worried about?" Lucifer asked incredulously.

"I know I should have probably just asked you if Christmas bothered you, but I honestly didn't know how to begin."

He sighed.

"The whole thing is barely more than another example of Dad's manipulation. Let's say you've never heard the story before. Would you think it was a healthy relationship if someone first decides to ruin some girl's life and puts her in danger of being stoned to death, and then magnanimously intervenes so that doesn't happen? Next – despite having the power to cause a _tsunami_ on the Red Sea – when she needs to make a journey whilst heavily pregnant, He doesn't even bother to make it any easier, causing her to arrive too late to find lodgings and instead she has to give birth in unsanitary conditions that probably made her grateful enough for even _surviving_ the birth that she felt even more indebted to Him. Of course _that_ resulted in her eventual blind obedience and rising a child in a way that made it easy to condition him into sacrificing himself."

"That's certainly a point of view one doesn't see every day. What was that about a tsunami?" Chloe was almost certain she missed something.

"Honestly, Detective. You live in a coastal city, in a tectonically active area and in the age of global information. What _do_ you call an event when sea waters uncommonly retreat for a while only to come back in a massive wave drowning everyone in the way?" he teased, before becoming serious again. "I tried to talk him out of going along with this madness, for all the good it did. I wish he listened, but by that time, he was brainwashed enough with his upbringing and messages from Dad, which being half-human he could probably barely deal with, that it didn't work. I don't even fault him for dismissing what I told him. He was handed loaded dice and convinced he knew how to play the game."

"That sounds a bit different from what I'm used to hearing."

"That's what translating hearsay too many times gets you. Honestly, I can't blame him. You have to agree though, being showered with a parent's love and told how special you are in order to get you to sacrifice yourself isn't healthy and boils down to abuse by every definition. In the end, all he got for his trouble was people pretending to care for the ideals he taught for a few days a year. It's a decidedly poor consolation and I couldn't really begrudge him that.

For a while, Lucifer grew silent, apparently lost in thoughts. Then he shook the mood off.

"But, coming back to what you were asking in the first place, why _would_ it bother me that you – or anyone else for that matter – chooses to celebrate an inaccurate birthday date of my half-brother by dressing up a tree native to neither Judea nor California, overindulging in food and drink and oiling the wheels of rabid capitalism by buying an excessive amount of gifts?"

Chloe couldn't help a short laugh escaping her after that answer.

"Now, that's better," he grinned at her, the serious tone from a moment ago apparently forgotten. "Speaking of gifts though, let's go get some for your offspring, shall we?"

III

"Don't even think about it." Chloe said firmly, standing in the middle of a toy store, wondering how someone literally _older than time_ could be harder to reason with than a nine-year-old.

"Honestly, Detective–"

"I don't care what she said. Trixie is _not_ getting a pony. She probably only mentioned it because one of her friends from school is learning to ride."

"The cost is really negligible if that's what concerns you. I would of course be willing to obtain one for her."

"What _concerns me_ at the moment is that my partner seems to be temporarily insane. In what universe is giving a child _a pony_ a good idea? She wouldn't even know what to do with it!"

"Of course she would. You said yourself you took riding lessons. This could provide an excellent opportunity for mother-daughter bonding. Plus, if she sticks to her plans of working in a zoo, having experience from young age of handling large animals would certainly go a long way while getting qualifications in that area."

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment, first wondering how on earth Lucifer knew about Trixie's plans for the future, then trying to figure out if he was teasing her or if he truly thought buying a kid an animal ten times their size was in some way rational.

"Alright, let me rephrase the initial question. Can you think of anything Trixie said she wanted that you didn't immediately buy her and _that isn't breathing_?"

"If you insist on being difficult about it, Detective, no. Not at the moment. But I'm sure we can find something suitable for your offspring all the same."

"You know, you never actually answered me about the dinner. Or would that just be too awkward?" Chloe reminded, picking up a box of a 3D jigsaw puzzles and examining it carefully, then putting it back down.

"Technically speaking, you never got around asking, but I would love to spend time with you, whatever the reason. I can't promise to refrain from any comments, if it seems you are planning to turn it into a more religious affair." Lucifer picked the box Chloe set down and added it to the growing pile in the basket.

"I would expect nothing less. You don't have to worry though. The tradition that we have with mom of lighting a candle next to my dad's photo is just about as spiritual as it gets." Chloe frowned at the box, giving it another look but left it on the pile.

"That seems oddly unproductive. Why would you do that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It makes it feel like he is with us, I guess? As a way to wish him happy holidays?"

"You _are_ aware that your father is in Heaven, aren't you?"

The certainty with which he said that made Chloe stop browsing the shelves and look at him. Of course, it made sense that such things would be obvious to him but even with her knowing what she did, it never fully registered what the implications were when it came to her father. She nodded.

"Sure, I guess. But only one of us knows what that actually _means_ , you know."

Lucifer hesitated for a moment, before stepping closer to her and placing a hand on her arm in a comforting gesture.

"I suppose for now it means that if you want to put your father's photo on display to remember him, that's more than fine but if you actually want to send him any messages, you'd be more successful praying to one of my siblings, asking them to pass the message along. Haniel would probably be willing, she was always very eager to do favours to everyone. Possibly Barachiel, as long as you don't make it obvious I suggested it."

Chloe couldn't help but feel just a bit overwhelmed. At the same time she could tell that tears were just about ready to appear in her eyes as suddenly her father appeared not lost forever but simply far away.

"Thank you for that," she whispered and then, not caring what he thought about it, hugged him.

"Yes, well, I'm glad I could offer some advice." He held her briefly in an embrace, as if surprised by her gesture, before stepping back, looking at her. "But I believe we still need to find some gifts for your offspring, so perhaps we should now focus on that."

"Yeah, let's." Chloe took a deep breath, trying to focus back on the task at hand.

III

"Now I _just_ need to figure out a way to hide all this from Trixie. I knew I shouldn't have gone overboard with the gifts."

"I would hardly say you have. You always picked only one thing of every category. I even had to intervene to make sure your daughter's doll had a few more wardrobe options."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I guess it's my fault for bringing the irresponsibility enabler along for the shopping. But I still have to hide it all somewhere."

"Can't you just put it all in one place and declare it off-limits for your offspring?"

"If you were in her shoes and told not to look somewhere what would be the first thing you did?"

"I see your point," Lucifer conceded. "Why don't you store the gifts for her at my place for the time being then? There is little chance of your spawn coming across them by accident there."

"Wouldn't that be a problem for you?" she asked sceptically.

"Not in the least," he assured, grinning. "Of course that would also allow me the opportunity to talk you out of any mundane gifts you might have decided on in a lapse of judgement." He dropped his voice to a theatrical whisper. "I heard _some people_ thought of buying _sensible clothing_ for their offspring. Talk about underwhelming."

"There is nothing wrong with practical gifts, Lucifer."

"Honestly, Detective. Don't you know _anything_?"

"Why do I have a feeling that my daughter made a deal with the Devil to get the gifts she wanted instead of writing a letter to Santa like all the other kids?"

"Because you know your child can be practical, I'm a text away and Nicholas has resided in the Silver City since the fourth century?"

Chloe just groaned at his wide grin.

"I'm starting to regret wishing that you'd learn how to interact with Trixie."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Detective." His tone was so innocent she _almost_ bought it. "And I feel I should point out that we still have the electronic store to visit."

"What for?"

"To find something for your offspring, why else?"

"The amount of _toys_ she's getting can already be measured by a metric ton thanks to your efforts."

"Honestly, Detective. Do you want your spawn to return to school with a mobile phone model from two years ago? Shame on you, planning to publically humiliate your child." He schooled his face into a pitying expression.

"There is nothing wrong with her phone. Are you sure you're not insisting on overdoing the commercial aspect of Christmas to spite your half-brother?" the question escaped Chloe before she could think, as a natural consequence of their teasing but as soon as it did, she paled, fearing she went too far. After all, if there was one sure-fire way to push Lucifer's buttons it was to mention his family; and to basically use it against him now that he had his guard down was a low blow. But, it was too late to do anything once the words were spoken.

Surprisingly, after a momentary pause, Lucifer only smirked. "I wouldn't say _spite_ , but more of a friendly teasing. It's still only an added bonus to ensuring you and your offspring have a good time."

Chloe rolled her eyes. Crisis averted then. Now she just had to deal with the fact that she might or might not be used to make a point on a divine level... and to think her life used to be boring.

III

The next day at work greeted her with old paperwork that was waiting for a time when she'd have no active cases. There was no reason to call Lucifer in, but he still appeared at the station around lunch time, carrying a bag of French pastries. She had a feeling they might be from a small bistro they discovered some time ago during a case.

"Hello, Detective," he greeted as soon as he reached her. "I've been wondering why I haven't heard anything from you today."

"We closed our last case yesterday and I happen to know you are highly allergic to paperwork." She explained, shrugging. "I thought I would let you have some time for other things."

"Oh, come now, Detective. You must know that as a business owner I have to do _some_ paperwork."

"What, you don't have anyone doing it for you?" She seemed genuinely surprised and just a bit afraid to ask about the administrative side of Lux after seeing his approach to paperwork.

"Most of it, yes. But there are a few things I have to do myself."

"Just as long as you don't send nude pictures to your accountant."

"That was only _once_ and he sent me his first," Lucifer defended, never losing a grin, before changing the topic. "Do you have any plans for after work?"

"Yeah, actually. I'm picking Trixie from school and we are going to pick a tree." Chloe hesitated for a second, weighting the perspective of potential awkwardness against possibly having more fun and having help of someone with superhuman strength. "Want to come with?"

"Why don't you swing by Lux on the way? I'm sure accompanying you could be entertaining enough."

III

When Chloe and Trixie entered, their eyes were drawn quickly to Lucifer sitting at the piano, going through the variations of some tune.

"Can you play some Christmas carols? We are learning them at school right now," Trixie approached with the question before Chloe could stop her.

"Hardly my favourite repertoire," Lucifer dismissed the question smoothly, sending Chloe a telling look. "I've got a better idea. How about you come sit here and I'll teach you how to play, say, _'_ Let it Snow'?"

"You would?" Trixie all but teleported herself onto the bench.

"I don't see why not. Now, pay attention. The song is in D Major, which means that instead of this and this white key we will actually be using the black one next to it." Trixie nodded, grinning, her full attention on the keyboard and a focussed look on her face, the kind of which is usually only seen around cats that are about to pounce on something. "Look closely. You'll be repeating this in a moment. We are starting with an A, and the first two bars go like this..."

He played the beginning of the melody and urged the girl to try to repeat it, looking appalled, when she first tried to do that with one finger.

Watching them like that, Chloe couldn't help herself as she reached for her cell to do a recording. She thought Lucifer's attention was completely on the song they were playing, but she was proven wrong when he spoke.

"Don't think I can't see what you're doing, Detective."

"What, can't a proud mother record her daughter learning to play the piano?"

"Of course she can. By the way, if that recording finds its way to the social media, there will be a special _Hot Tub High School_ showing at Lux every week for the next three months."

"You wouldn't."

"With free drinks for those able to name the cast."

III

It was a good thing, Chloe decided, that they were at least limited somewhat by the height of her ceiling. When Lucifer, ever acting as an enabler, let Trixie take the lead picking a tree, her initial proposal was a tree that could easily reach third floor. Of course, while disappointed, her daughter eventually accepted the architectural restraints they were bound by. They left to look for a smaller tree, with her casting one last regretful look at her first pick.

Chloe could just bet that it was that look that was responsible for the fact that five minutes later it turned out that the taller tree would be serving as holiday decoration at Lux.

"Of course," Lucifer assured her, "we will need to decorate with a large amount of mistletoe to balance it up. Otherwise it might seem too family friendly and the club has a reputation to uphold no matter the season."

"Naturally," she agreed with a straight face. "Out of curiosity, do you always get this involved in decorating the club? Because I don't recall any trees there last year."

"There _was_ a season-themed dance routine my dancers had," Lucifer said after a moment of thought. "Nothing particularly impressive but the patrons seemed to enjoy it."

"If it wasn't for Trixie I would have a theory about how what they actually enjoyed had little to do with the theme."

"Oh, don't censor yourself on your spawn's account. She seems too busy picking a tree to actually listen."

"You'd be surprised. Bats would be hard pressed to match the skill with which she can hear things she's not supposed to," Chloe muttered to him in a lower voice.

"Speaking of your child, I think she has chosen something smaller as you requested." Lucifer gestured to the girl.

"That was quick. Now we only need to get it to the car."

"Oh, I paid to have the trees delivered. I thought you might be open to getting some coffee and hot chocolate, respectively after we were done and your spawn didn't seem opposed to the idea."

Suddenly the reason for Trixie's swift decision-making became a lot clearer.

"Sure, why not. Do I even want to know how much this delivery is going to cost?"

"I needed mine delivered anyway so an additional one wasn't a problem.

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that."

III

It was much later, in the evening, when the tree was delivered and Chloe dragged the boxes with Christmas ornaments out to decorate it the next day, that it really hit her how strange it was to have _Lucifer_ actually helping her with the holiday preparations. Just as she was thinking that her eyes fell on an angel figurine that usually went on top of the tree.

Suddenly she couldn't help a giggle escaping her as she imagined what kind of commentary would a figurine, dressed in what could be at best described as a nightgown, get from an actual angel who wouldn't be caught dead without a tailor made suit.

"Mommy?" she heard her daughter's voice coming from her room.

"I'm fine, Monkey. Listen, I was thinking we should have a star on top of the tree this year, what do you think?" At least it wouldn't get her bursting out in laughter every time she saw it, making it seem like she had picked up her partner's habits when it came to controlled substances.

"Do you want me to make one?"

"That would be great, Sweetheart."

III

To her own surprise, Chloe realised on Christmas Eve morning that she had everything ready for the holidays. Disbelieving, she went through her own checklist just to make sure. Everything still seemed to be done.

She was torn out of her musings when her phone rang. She answered, without looking at the screen. "Decker."

"Hello, Detective," she heard her partner's voice on the other side of the line. "Out of curiosity, how do you and your offspring feel about ballet?"

"Do I even want to know why you're asking?"

"Oh, it's nothing nefarious, I assure you. I simply got three tickets to the Nutcracker for this evening. I thought you might want to come. And if you left your house keys at Lux, Patrick says he'd be willing to get the gifts into your house while your spawn is not there."

"And you expect me to give my house keys to a guy I barely know?"

"Trust me, Detective, with _my_ vetting process all my employees are _extremely_ trustworthy," Lucifer informed her in a tone that simultaneously made Chloe curious and had her immediately decide she didn't want to know.

She thought for a moment.

"You know what? I might actually take you up on that. I don't think Trixie's ever seen a ballet performance."

"Now that is completely unacceptable," she could just about imagine his appalled look just by hearing his voice. "I know you decided to move away from your artistic heritage but your child should have at least some contact with higher art and the classics. Can I expect you about two? Or I can pick you up if you leave the spare keys at the club first."

"No, that's fine. We can meet at Lux," Chloe assured, realising a second later that she agreed to coming to the performance.

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to seeing you, Detective."

III

As they arrived at Lux, with Chloe feeling a bit self-conscious wearing a cocktail dress and high heels, she had already reached the conclusion that she was going to regret the whole thing.

Not only did she feel a bit out of her depth, she had little doubt that her rather active daughter, already starting to get hyper with the perspective of Christmas gifts getting closer, would not be able to quietly sit still for the entire duration of the ballet. Moreover, she convinced Trixie to wear one of the dresses she got from her grandmother, making her even more likely to complain.

Her thoughts were momentarily forgotten when she was met at the entrance by Lucifer, who looked at her admiringly.

"Detective, you look even more stunning than usual," he greeted, taking her house and car keys from her hand and wordlessly passing them a moment later to a man that Chloe vaguely recalled might be Patrick. "Shall we get going?"

As soon as they stepped out, another employee whom she completely didn't recognise drove up in a shiny black Mercedes before handing Lucifer the keys. She was about to ask when she realised there was no way they would have fit in his beloved corvette.

When half an hour later they were sitting in the audience, having probably the best seats in the house, she couldn't help casting worried looks at Trixie, expecting her to start getting bored any second.

Instead, as soon as she saw the dancers the girl quietly whispered "wow" and sat transfixed looking at all the twirls and jumps. Who would have thought?

Chloe risked a glance at Lucifer. Only to meet his eyes as he was apparently watching _them_ watch the ballet as much as he was watching the performers themselves. He seemed strangely relaxed and grinned at her as the music changed, silently indicating the left side of the stage to her.

After a moment of quietly watching the dancers, it suddenly hit her – he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. For all the inaccuracies in the perpetuated image of angels, if Lucifer was any indication, their affinity towards music seemed to be just about the only thing that people got right.

For the first time in the last few days she had a feeling she wasn't seeing Lucifer making an over-the-top production of everything superficially associated with celebrating Christmas as some exaggerated 'I told you so' on divine level. Music was something deeply personal to him and it seemed his offer was not only about taking them to see the show but about actually sharing something important with her, and by extension with Trixie.

And to think at first she actually had doubts whether they should be going.

III

After the ballet, Lucifer drove them directly home, with Trixie chattering happily from the back seat, extolling the virtue of ballet as an art and declaring the absolute necessity of describing the performance in detail to both her father and her grandmother as soon as she sees them.

To Chloe's mild surprise, her car was waiting parked close to the building. She glanced questioningly at Lucifer.

"Patrick needed some help getting everything here so I thought he might as well bring your car back," he explained simply as they exited the car.

"Needed help?" Chloe asked incredulously. "I know we went a little overboard but I didn't think it was to this extent. And how do you even intend to get inside?"

"Oh, I had them bring me the keys back during the interval," he explained, handing them over. She decided not to question the fact that she had never seen him gone for more than a minute or two.

As soon as she opened the door, the squeal of excitement was her only warning to avoid being stampeded by her daughter, who apparently noticed a large stack of presents occupying the space under the tree. A _surprisingly_ large stack of presents, in fact.

"Lucifer, are you sure there are only things we–" she broke off as she noticed that by one of the walls, partially obscured by the tree stood something that looked suspiciously like an upright piano with a giant red bow encircling it. She was momentarily speechless.

"I admit, there might be a thing or two I added from myself," he informed in an even tone of someone discussing the most mundane thing in the world.

" _Lucifer_!"

"Well, you _did_ seem to like the idea of your spawn learning to play. And it's not alive, which seemed to be a concern for you," he finished innocently.

It took her three attempts to find her voice again.

"I can't let you buy things for us just like that."

"It's not for you but for _your spawn_ and she seems to like it." True to his word, the girl was already lifting the fallboard. "But she might let you use it from time to time, so you can remember how to play more than one song," he teased.

"Still–"

"And don't tell me you don't like the idea of your offspring showing off tomorrow by playing the song she learned?" She might be immune to his charms but she had to admit, he was _very_ good at that temptation thing.

Still, wouldn't she be a bad mother if she didn't take an opportunity to allow her daughter to expand her skill set?

"Only if you promise to teach her."

"You've got yourself a deal, Detective."

III

As she was waiting for everyone to arrive, Chloe's cell pinged with the sound of an incoming message. She glanced at the screen, quickly reading a text from Maze – 'Have fun overstuffing yourselves. Tell the Small Human I'll take her on a backstage tour of the zoo when I'm back so we can see the tigers being fed.'

She sighed. She could just about handle her partner being the actual Devil, but her demon friend sending her what seemed to be her version of Christmas wishes? Her life was officially weird.

Continued in epilogue

Reviews will be appreciated.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small addition to the story in the spirit of the season.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This story was initially intended to have only one chapter. However, with the positive response it got when I first published it I might have given a few people my word to try to add a scene or two for this Christmas. It might not be much but I suppose we could all use something to lift our spirits.  
> A big thank you to my beta silver-doe287 for her help with the story.

Joy to the World

Epilogue

Glancing at her phone to check the time, Chloe was forced to conclude that the experience of having everything ready beforehand when it came to the Christmas dinner was decidedly alien. Normally, no matter how much she tried to prepare in advance, there always seemed some last-minute things to do that kept her occupied. Not this time.

Feeling a tad uneasy, she switched on some music.

_City sidewalks busy sidewalks_

_Dressed in holiday style_

_In the air_

_There's a feeling of Christmas-_

The sentimental melody really didn't do much to improve her mood. It wasn't that she was second-guessing herself, but… Well, she did invite Lucifer of all people to a Christmas dinner, so she guessed from an absolutely neutral point of view that she was practically asking for something to go sideways. That could be a decent excuse for her restlessness, but she couldn't help feeling that it might actually have more to do with holiday family gatherings having an inherent flaw of being potential minefields, which keeping busy was meant to distract her from.

Just as she was reaching this oh-so-cheerful conclusion, there was a knock on her door, which signified somebody's early arrival. A minute later she was letting her partner in, very seriously considering the origin of the phrase "speak of the devil" considering the direction her thoughts were taking just a moment ago.

"Detective, I have to say you look even more radiant than usual," Lucifer greeted with a decidedly inappropriate grin. "I would-"

At that point they were interrupted by a crash coming out of Trixie's room. Not waiting for him to finish the sentence, Chloe rushed off to see what had happened to her daughter. Upon entering the room, she was met with the sight of her child giving her a decidedly too innocent look. There was a mug smashed on the floor next to the girl's bed.

Trixie apparently followed her mother's line of sight, giving her about a second to take everything in, before declaring emphatically,

"This wasn't my fault!"

Chloe held the girl's gaze.

"Then I suppose it got trampled by a reindeer that then escaped, flying out of the window?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Speaking as an authority on the matter, I would say you are emanating too much guilt to convince anyone, let alone someone who knows you as long as your mother does." Chloe became aware of Lucifer standing behind her in the doorway. She snorted.

"I would have thought you'd be glad that at least there is someone not using the old 'the devil made me do it' excuse."

"You seem to be forgetting that for once, I actually have an alibi of being in the presence of a law enforcement officer at the time the event occurred."

"Actually, said law enforcement officer is starting to get an impression that you are providing a distraction in order for Trixie to get away with whatever it was. Speaking of, Monkey, care to fess up?"

The girl seemed to be contemplating it for a moment, clearly trying to come up with a way of presenting the events in a way that made her look like an innocent bystander.

"It was all the fault of that dress from grandma."

"Oh really?" Chloe did her best to keep her expression neutral.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not used to wearing those puffy skirts and the mug was stranding on the nightstand when I came to see if my phone got charged-"

"You mean the same mug that you had hot chocolate in last night and that I told you to put in the dishwasher this morning?"

"I was going to do it!"

"I'm sure. Now," she said with a quick glance to make sure the girl had her shoes on, Chloe made a valiant attempt to project the air of authority. "You are going to march off to get the dustpan and clean this up before grandma gets here. Make sure you're careful with the shards and don't get your dress stained."

"Okay." With a defeated mutter somewhere on the lower threshold of audibility Trixie exited the room.

Only then did Chloe allow herself to start chuckling.

"I take it you aren't particularly grieved by the loss of the mug then?" Lucifer asked, irony lacing his voice.

"Are you kidding? It finally starts to feel like a holiday. Everything was too unnervingly perfect before. I've been wondering when the other shoe was going to drop."

III

Chloe glanced at her watch for the third time in the last five minutes. When her mother called her in the morning to say that there was a slight delay in her flight, she didn't think much of it. After all, she assured her daughter that she would still arrive with plenty of time until dinner. Dinner, which was currently getting cold, with her mother nowhere in sight, even though the airport's website listed the plane on the arrived list for over an hour now.

Trixie, apparently picking up on her mother's anxiousness, was getting impatient as well, until Lucifer mercifully herded her off to the piano to teach her some new melody. They had been sitting there for a while now, and the clumsy attempts at hitting the keys seemed to have stopped, which could either mean that the girl achieved an impressive degree of skill in impossibly short time or grew bored. Chloe couldn't help but bet on the latter option.

Trying to distract herself, she came closer to investigate, just as her partner started fiddling with the keys, seemingly without any particular melody in mind. He seemed to be bantering with Trixie as he did so.

"So, you'd like some more ambitious song, is that right Spawn?"

"Uh-huh. I want grandma to be impressed."

"Don't you think she'd be more impressed by you _not_ getting your fingers tangled while attempting a piece?"

"Nope," Trixie said firmly.

"If you say so," he responded sceptically as the fiddling suddenly smoothly evolved into his own rendition of Queen's A Winter Tale. To make things more interesting, he seemed to be including a generous amount of embellishments in the melody.

Trixie simply stared.

"Do you think we could try something easier for now?" she eventually asked.

"I knew you'd see the light, Spawn. But it seems your mother wants our attention for now. Anything either of us can do for you, Detective?"

"Not really. I'm just worried about my Mom being late."

"I'm sure you are aware how nightmarish holiday traffic can be in LA. Maze was positively jealous when we first arrived that she wasn't the one to come up with that."

Chloe snorted. "Yeah, nothing like good torment-jealousy to kick off a holiday season," she commented dryly.

Just then there was a knock on the door, announcing somebody's arrival.

Chloe moved quickly to open the door, with Lucifer and Trixie following at a slower pace to greet the new guest.

As could be expected, the door opened to reveal Chloe's mother.

"I'm sorry I'm late, dear, you wouldn't believe the traffic from the airport-" Just as the older woman was stepping inside, she was interrupted by a loud exclamation of "Granma!" courtesy of Trixie.

Lucifer in the meantime put on his most charming smile.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Penelope. A true star needs a proper entrance after all. And if there ever was someone deserving of the title, she is standing before me now."

"Lucifer, lovely to see you," the true star in question stood a little straighter as she smiled in response. "It's been ages since we had a chance to talk."

"Which might have something to do with the fact that you were almost never in town lately," Chloe supplied under her breath, making the woman roll her eyes.

"At least I know I'm missed, dear. I love what you've done with the place."

"Thank you," the detective acknowledged, coming to a silent conclusion that her last-minute decorations she put up to stop herself from fidgeting actually proved themselves useful. Unless, of course, her mother was referring to the rather impressive tree that Trixie picked. "Now, I'm sure you're hungry after the trip and the food is already on the table so why don't you clean up and we can sit down to dinner?"

"Just a second dear," Penelope reached into her back, retrieving a cardboard nativity scene and placing it on the coffee table. "Some people were selling them at the airport. I thought maybe we could use one to add some authenticity to the celebration." she paused for a moment, arranging the thing before stepping back to admire her work. "Looks nice, don't you think? Now, I'll be right back."

As soon as she disappeared from sight, Chloe turned to her partner.

"Don't," she said emphatically.

"What, don't comment on the fact that somebody's idea of authenticity is to include young lambs in a scene supposedly taking place in December or some separate wooden building nobody would keep their animals in at the time?"

"Surprising as it is, _some_ of us don't actually remember the architectural details of the time." She rolled her eyes at him.

Just then, Penelope returned to the room, commandeering the scene as usual.

"I am all ready now. Shall we sit down?" she announced as if she was giving a stage performance.

Chloe silently wondered how much Lucifer's presence had to do with her mother's behaviour.

When everyone else sat down, she stepped to a dresser close to the table, pulled out a box of matches and lit a candle next to a photo standing there. She lowered her voice.

"Merry Christmas, Dad. We miss you."

She returned to the table, briefly locking eyes with Lucifer, almost expecting him to say something. He did not.

The silence was broken by Trixie, who used her impeccable timing to get the attention of the guests.

"Have you seen the star on the tree? I made it myself!"

"Did you, spawn?" Lucifer glanced briefly at the tree. "Seems like you did a pretty decent job. I should know, I made my share of stars, back in the day."

Unfortunately for Chloe, she was taking a sip of water during the exchange and almost choked on the last sentence. She coughed a few times before taking a deep breath.

Whatever else this Christmas was going to turn out to be, it certainly wouldn't be boring.

The End


End file.
